“Ay! But mercy, wuman, canna the French pray, as weel?”

“Nae doobt, they dae; but wha could understan’ they jabberin’ bodies?” snapped the interrogated one, in peremptory answer.


Curiously worded advertisements that are funny without intent are common in the London papers. Here are a few examples:

“A boy wanted who can open oysters with references.”

“Bulldog for sale; will eat anything, very fond of children.”

“Wanted an organist and a boy to blow the same.”

“Wanted, a boy to be partly outside and partly inside the counter.”

“Lost, near Highgate Archway, an umbrella belonging to a gentleman with a bent rib and a bone handle.”